Cantel Medical, through its Crosstex International subsidiary, has further expanded its infection prevention and control business by purchasing the sterilization monitoring business of ConFirm Monitoring Systems, a provider of biological monitoring services in North America.

ConFirm offers both a mail-in service and in-office spore test kits for healthcare professionals to verify the performance of their sterilizers in accordance with industry guidelines for daily or weekly testing.

The purchase price is comprised of $7.5m in cash at closing and contingent consideration of up to an additional $1m based on achievement of specified sales levels through 31 January 2012.

Crosstex CEO Gary Steinberg said ConFirm is an ideal addition to their sterilization product portfolio.

"Given that the sterilizer is a critical component of infection control in every dental office and most healthcare facilities, we want to provide the most effective tools to ensure it is functioning properly," Steinberg said.

"When used in conjunction with our patent-pending Sure-Check sterilization pouch, ConFirm’s biological monitoring systems enable us to provide the highest form of sterility assurance."

The transaction is expected to be slightly accretive to Cantel’s earnings per share in the first full fiscal year.